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THE PIRANIAN'S

In college I had three families. One that raised me from a young age and two surrogate families that took care of me during college; the Krause's and the Piranian's. The latter of the two lived about two hours north of Blacksburg, VA in the historic town of Lexington, VA, home of General Stonewall Jackson. This sleepy Virginia town is quite possibly in the most ideal location of any city in the entire state. Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains on all sides and traversed by two of the countries premier fly-fishing rivers, the James & the Maury, this city is a paradise for mountain loving persons, like me.

The Piranian's came to Lexington over 30 years ago and Mike's dad, Rolf, is the men's head soccer coach at Washington & Lee University and has been for the better part of three decades. He has built up a premier program that is only held back from national greatness due to the rigorous requirements that the educational board places on recruits, thus limiting his ability to recruit athletic superstars with neanderthal IQ levels. He is also the head PE teacher for all that is cool; mountain biking, backpacking, etc. By far one of the sweetest gigs in the history of tenured faculty and his classes are some of the most coveted in the schools curriculum. The Piranian's are also National Park buffs and we constantly trade stories of parks that we have visited and plan to visit.

But it is not the families shared general interests or passion for the mountains that attracts me to them as surrogate parents. It is their genuine care and interest in me as a person that always makes me feel as if I am at home when I visit Lexington. I am always welcomed with open arms and treated as a member of the family. Last night Rolf took Mike and I on one of his favorite five mile mountain bike rides high up on the Blue Ridge before treating us to generous portions of Frank's Pizza and ice cream at the local scoop. It is acts of kindness like these that make me feel like a member of the family. He probably didn't think anything of it, but to me it was one more memory that I will take with me of a family that I will also treat as my own.

Until Tomorrow.